Not Good at Goodbye
by Accio Truth
Summary: Britt claimed the zune, and as far as Joey Parker knows she is the one. But when he dances with Mary one last time he falls in love with her all over again-but this time Mary might not believe in second chances.
1. Dance with me

**I don't own Another Cinderella Story. This is an idea I've had for a while-what if Britt had claimed the zune? Please R&R and tell me if I should continue.**

**Not good at goodbye**

They had been going out for a while now.

Ever since Britt had lied, had pretended to be "the one" for Joey Parker. Ever since then, Britt and Joey had been going out. She still was the one, as far as he was concerned. Everyday he came over, his hand fit into hers, every time they hugged, Mary's heart shattered into a million more pieces.

He didn't even know the difference between Mary and Britt-he was probably just glad that he hadn't been dancing with a freak. A freak like Mary. That's all she could tell herself as she laid in her bed, crying. Because crying was normal for her now. He would never understand-Joey Parker was somebody that she never wanted to see again, but at the same time she was so in love that anywhere else but at his side was the wrong place to be.

A knock on Mary's door awoke Mary from her sleep. She had fallen asleep crying, she realized, as she got herself out of bed. She wiped a few stray tears off her cheeks before walking over to her bedroom door and opening it cautiously. There stood Joey Parker. Her breath was caught in her throat. She didn't know what to say-she wanted to hug him and tell him that she loved him, but at the same time she wanted to slam the door and never see his face again. She came to an agreement with herself.

"H-hi," she managed. He flashed her a smile, sliding his hands into his pockets as he did so.

"Hey, do you know where Britt is? Sorry to bother you, or anything."

Britt. Of course that was why he was here. Why not? Mary bit her lip and shook her head, trying to hide her face as she was afraid that she would begin to cry again. "I thought she was with you," she spoke quietly. He probably thought that she was crazy. Not that it mattered.

"She said she had to go somewhere for a second-is this where you live?" Joey had looked past her, into her room. Mary glanced back and gulped, nodding as well. He took a step into her room, smiling at the walls. He noticed a poster of one of Mary's favorite dancers.

"You dance?" He asked, turning back to her. Mary blushed a bit. "Yeah...a little."

"Maybe I could give you a few lessons sometime," he said, smiling. Mary's breath caught in her throat. "Maybe," she said. "If you weren't too busy with Britt." He laughed a little at this.

"Would you care to dance?" His words shocked Mary, as though it were just another one of her dreams. "I-I would love to," she said, as he put his hand out for her. She took his hand as Joey walked over to the radio, turning on a song. Mary smiled. She loved this one.

"Ready?" Mary nodded, and Joey took her by the waist gently, grasping her hand as he began to dance with her. The music was a small beat in the background as the two figures danced around the room, and Joey found himself lost in time once again. The two twirled around the room, creating their own music. They had lost all remembrance of the outside world as their bodies moved together, breathed together, as one. They danced even once the song ended, not noticing that anything was different. The only thing that they saw were each others eyes as they danced around the room.

With one last dip, Joey held Mary in his arms, staring into her eyes with a passion he hadn't ever had before.

"Your the one," he breathed. Mary said nothing, but instead looked into his eyes, tears welling up once again, if only this time by happiness. Before either realized what they were doing, their lips were pressed against each others, closing their eyes.

Startled, Mary pulled away from Joey's embrace, turning away and blushing. Joey took a step towards her, putting his hand on her shoulder. "Wait, please-Mary."

She didn't even know that he had known her name. "Please," he repeated, turning her around. She looked away sorrowfully. "But you and Britt, she's so happy with you," Mary said, trying to sound kind to her stepsister, although in her heart she wanted nothing more then to dance once more with Joey, to wrap her arms around his neck again.

"Britt..." Joey mumbled, looking at the floor and saying her name as though he had never heard of it before. He turned back to Mary. "No, Mary, you have this all wrong. Your the one that I danced with, I've been looking for you-"

"Joey, I'm sorry," Mary said, closing her eyes. "Some things don't work out like people plan them too. I thought I loved you. But-but you couldn't tell the difference between me and someone else. I'm not very good at goodbyes, so..." With these last words, Mary didn't look back as she began crying once more, putting her hand over her mouth so that Joey wouldn't hear her, and so that she couldn't stop herself, heading out the door, away from the house.

She didn't turn around, she didn't see the pain in his eyes as a single tear ran down Joey Parker's cheek.


	2. Still Together

**I don't own Another Cinderella Story. Thanks for the few reviews that I got, and sorry for the late update. Reviews are my fuel for writing new chapters! Anyways, hope you enjoy.**

**Not good at goodbye**

It had been a week since Joey and Mary had danced. Before Joey had learned that Mary was the one. And yet, it still hadn't changed a thing. Mary hardly felt the small bumps in the sidewalk as she skateboarded across the ground, Dominique's mansion getting closer by the second. She arrived in the driveway, kicking up on her board as she walked to her room, trying not to think about the workload that she was sure to be given for the day.

As soon as she entered the house, she heard the tv. She bit her lip as she walked into the living room, seeing two figures on the couch. The first was her "step-sister," Britt, who was snuggling into the other figure. It was Joey.

Mary hadn't known what she was thinking when she believed that Joey would just stop dating Britt when he found out that she wasn't the one. She should have known that he didn't care-he probably just went on pretending that Britt was the one. It made no difference to him.

She realized that she was staring at the couch, just standing there. Britt turned around and scrunched up her face. "Oh my gosh, Mary, I didn't see you there. Be a doll and get me some bubbly water." She said this with a grin, before straightening her face out. "Now." The last part was more of a command. Joey turned around, noticing her, his eyes widening.

"Come on, Britt," he said, looking at his girlfriend. "I mean, she doesn't need to serve you..."

"Joey, honey..." she turned back to him and put her hand on his chest, trailing her hand up and down. "Let me take care of this. Mary!" Mary rolled her eyes, walking towards her door.

"Believe it or not, Britt, I'm actually not your maid. Or anyone's," she added, shooting a sharp glance at Joey as she said this. She slammed her bedroom door shut closed behind her. Standing still for a moment, she soon walked over to her bed and laid down, liking the sound of the near silence, and pretending that she didn't hear the television from the other side of the door. Pretending like she didn't care.

Before long of lying there on her bed, Mary drifted off to sleep. She had a dream that she was back at the ball, but this time she was watching from the crowd as Joey danced with Britt. At the end, they kissed and it changed into a wedding scene. There was nothing in the dream that Mary could do to stop them from saying "I do."

But in the real world there was.

Mary jolted awake, sitting up in her bed and rubbing her head. She didn't know how late it was, but she didn't hear the tv anymore, and it was pretty dark outside. From outside her sliding doors she could hear music, which confused her. Standing up, she crossed over to the sliding doors, opening them up to outside.

Joey was sitting there with his guitar, strumming and singing. Mary's eyes widened as she looked around, wondering if anyone could hear him.

"What are you doing?" Mary exclaimed, which made him look up and stop. But she couldn't avoid the smile on his face.

"Singing," he responded, strumming all of the guitar chords. "Is that alright?"

"No! It's is not _alright_. You can't go around singing to me, I'm not your girlfriend." The words caught in her throat if only a bit, and Mary turned on her heel, planning on stepping right back into her room. But Joey caught her arm, stopping her. His touch made her wince.

"Wait, Mary, don't go." He stood up, setting his guitar on the ground and letting go of Mary's arm. He reached into his pocket as she turned around, looking at him questioningly. "I came to-to give this back to you." He held out in front of him the zune. _Her_ zune. Mary smiled just a bit.

"Thanks," she said, taking it out of his hand and brushing her hand on top of his. Their eyes locked for a brief moment before Mary looked away quickly, blushing brightly and heading back to her room. "You had better get home then?" Her words came out as a question.

"Yeah, I guess so," he agreed. There was silence for just a moment. "Bye." Mary didn't look back, but she also didn't hear his footsteps walking away. After a few moments, she turned around. Nobody was there.

* * *

"I can't figure her out."

At lunch the next day, Joey Parker sat in the cafeteria. Beside him was his best friend Dustin, who was a bit busy trying to catch the eye of a girl across the cafeteria. He looked up at his friend's words, surprised.

"Huh?" Joey looked at him in a tired way.

"Mary. I just can't figure her out." He put his head in his hands. "I mean, we connected when we danced out there, we really did. But now she's mad at me, and I really don't know why. What am I gonna do?"

Dustin sighed, looking at his friend. "I don't know, man. Girls are weird sometimes." He looked at the girl again, who was looking over at him as well. He winked, and she rolled her eyes with a small smile on.

Joey looked up at his friend and then at where he was looking. "Yeah, girls are the weird ones," he said, frowning. This caught Dustin's attention.

"Hey, don't be taking your problems out on me! Listen, if you wanna make the girl happy, do something sweet. Ask her out on a date. Buy her some flowers. Offer her your hand in marriage." But Joey had already trailed off.

"Buy her some flowers..." He stared off into space, a small smile growing on his lips as he looked up at Mary from across the lunch room. She looked up at him but then looked away, turning back to her friend Tami.

Joey wanted to talk to his friend some more, but at that moment Britt came and sat in between the two of them, immediately grabbing Joey in a hug.

"Hey, boys," she said flirtily. "Talking about me?"

Dustin snorted.


	3. Letters

**Enjoy! I don't own Another Cinderella Story...as always. Sorry it's a bit short.**

**Not good at goodbye**

"So let me get this straight, Joey Parker himself showed up to your house last night-"

"He was there with Britt anyways," Mary protested.

"Let me finish, thank you," Tammie said, keeping her eyes on the road as best she could. "So he showed up to your house-let me finish Mary! So he showed up at your house and sang a song for you. Sweet. And then you..."

"Told him that he couldn't sing for me, that I wasn't his girlfriend."

"Ugh!" Tammie looked at Mary and then back on the road, yelping a bit as she swiveled around a car. "You see, there is only one problem with all that. It's insane. Do you know how many girls would kill for that to happen to them?"

Mary stayed silent at this, turning so that she could stare out the window towards her school. Tammie was still laughing to herself and mumbling about how crazy her best friend was, but Mary wanted none of that.

When they pulled into the parking lot and parked, Mary unbuckled and was fully prepared to step out, but a hand was placed on her shoulder, turning her back. Tammie looked at her. "You know what your going to do? Your going to approach Joey and give him a second chance. What he deserves."

"He doesn't deserve it though Tammie!"

She said it so loud that a few people turned towards the "great pumpkin" of a car and walked away quickly. Tammie stared them down before turning back to her friend.

"No guys do. But you're gonna regret this more than anything when your 25, single with two kids and another one on the way, struggling to even get the rent down when your boss tells you that he's going to have to lay you off from-"

"EARTH TO TAMMIE!" Mary's eyes were wide. "Is there something that you wanna tell me?"

Tammie leaned in. "Go. Talk. To. Him." She leaned out again. "Now."

Mary stuck her tongue out at her friend as she opened the door and stepped out.

* * *

It was a bit ironic, actually, when she thought about it. Mary had been looking just about everywhere and anywhere for Joey, but for once, he was nowhere around her. Every time she thought she saw him, he would be going in a different direction. It was almost as if he was avoiding her. But why would he do that?

Determination in the female's eyes, she walked down the halls, glancing down other hallways, she ran into Tammie, who just so happened to have her arms linked with Dustin's.

"Hey Mary," she said happily. She was always grinning while in the company of Dustin. "So, have you taken my advice?"

Mary sighed. "I've _tried_," she said. "But he's nowhere in sight. I think he's decided that he'd rather live a life without me. Or something." Tammie let go of Dustin, who looked a bit confused.

"No, no, no, sweetie," Tammie said. "You know what, that's not it at all. Dustin!" Her head snapped up as she had an idea. "Where's Joey?"

Dustin's eyes widened, but returned to normal only after a moment. "I-I-um, I mean, I think he might be-you know..." Tammie's eyebrow has raised at her boyfriend's stammering.

"You got something to say or not?" She demanded, hands now on her hips.

"OH! Look at the time. Bio-Alge-Chemistry. Um, I'm almost late."

"Wow, I'm impressed Dustin. I didn't know you were taking Bio-Alge-Chemistry this year."

With that, Dustin sped off down the hall and Tammie turned to her friend. "Hey, don't let this get you down. He's not avoiding you, no way." Mary nodded, although she knew that what Tammie said wasn't true. She had just missed her chance, that was all.

* * *

She kicked up her skateboard, running a hand through he hair as she opened up the mail box, shuffling through the papers there. Boring, boring, junk, boring...it was the same cycle of mail that Dominique received like usual, until something caught her eye. Slowly, very slowly, she slid her thumb across the top of the letter, taking out a sheet of paper with her name at the top. And in the corner...

Her eyes widened. In very formal print, it read '_The Manhattan Academy of Dance.'_ Excited now, Mary began to grin as she unfolded the paper so that she could read the letter.

_Dear Ms. Santiago,_

_ We have sent this letter to inform you of your place on our list. You are in the top twenty of all those who have tried out for the school thus far, and if you are accepted you will be receiving a phone call from us personally._

_ We thank you much for trying out._

_ Sincerely,_

_ The Manhattan Academy of Dance faculty and staff_

She couldn't help it. She screamed in excitement, picking up her skateboard and running into the house, straight to her room. She closed the door behind her, falling onto her bed with a cascade of giggles. She felt like she could float. It was amazing.

Who to tell first? Tammie, of course, her best friend. She had always been there for her. She would of course tell Tammie first. But another name appeared in her mind.

Joey.

Where had that come from? Sitting up in her bed, she realized why. She got off of the bed and walked over to her door, looking at the back of it. That was why she had thought his name-it was on her door.

Taking a deep breath, Mary reached out for the note taped to her door in his handwriting, reading it quickly. 'Mary. Sorry about today. You'll understand soon. Come to the park tonight at nine. J.P.'

What was his problem? Could he not understand that he wasn't going to get a second chance? Sure, she was thinking about it today, but only for just a fraction of a second. And he had ruined that anyways. So why did he think she would just go off and meet him, just at the snap of his fingers or at the leaving of a note on her door. So now, there was only one question for her to ask herself.

What would she wear?


	4. Maybe

**Enjoy! I don't own Another Cinderella Story...as always. Sorry it's a bit short.**

**Not good at goodbye**

Mary hadn't called Tammie. She hadn't told Dustin. Not her sisters...well, she would never tell her step-sisters, not in a million years. But the point was, she hadn't told anyone about where she was going that night, at nine. She didn't want to tell anyone-she wanted it to be between her and Joey Parker. Just the two of them.

She had decided on wearing something not too fancy, but not casual either. A nice little dress. She didn't want to give Joey the thought that she was actually going to enjoy this little meeting of theirs, no.

By now she had convinced herself that the only reason that she was going was to tell him that they were going to have to go their separate ways. There was nothing that could be done, they obviously weren't right for each other, what with all of what was happening.

So now she laid on her bed, eyes open and focused on the ceiling as though there was something there to stare at. She had set her alarm to go off at 8:30, giving her thirty minutes to walk from her house to the park. She didn't want to skateboard there, since she was wearing a dress, and she hadn't told Tammie so there was no way she was going to be able to get a ride.

The buzzer of her alarm went off and Mary sat up with a start, quickly turning off the alarm clock. She didn't want anyone else in the house to hear it, after all.

She crept out the door, praying that she wasn't heard. Familiar sounds came from the living room: MTV blazing and loud on the tv and Bree loudly complaining about nothing. Britt sulked in a corner, mumbling about Joey calling off dates at the last minute.

But when Mary closed the door, all of this was shut off. It was a chilly night, and she wished she had grabbed a jacket, although she knew she couldn't risk going back now. She began to walk down the drive and onto the sidewalk, her eyes on the direction she knew the park to be. It had always been a good place for her to sneak out, especially when she wanted to get away from the attention of her "family."

The wind whipped the hair across her face, and Mary moved it out of her eyes, pushing her hair behind her ear. She stopped walking after a while, seeing that she had finally reached the park. It was dark, and from where she was standing there was nobody standing on the grass at all.

Had she been tricked? Her breath caught in her throat. She hadn't thought of that before. The way that Joey had ignored her at school-maybe it had been his conscious, and he hadn't been able to face her. After all, he _was _dating Britt now. She could have easily dragged him down to her level.

But Mary still found herself walked onto the grass, the cool blades brushing her feet. It was silent, and not a single car was rolling by.

"Mary Santiago?" Mary practically jumped out of her skin as she heard the voice.

"Joey?" She asked, considerably quieter than his voice. A chuckle rolled through the park. Lights flashed on in front of her, forming a familiar shape. Her eyes widened.

In front of her was a giant heart, encompassing at least the whole park, entirely made of roses, redder then she had ever seen before.

"Hey Mary," he grinned.

"Joey-what is all of this?" she asked, confused.

"What do you mean? Oh, the flowers? It's the last I can do. Really." Mary was going red all over, trying to cover her face so that he wouldn't see. He walked towards her from the side of the heart, his hand held behind his back. "Mary...I'm sorry. I want you to know right now that your the most amazing thing that's ever happened to me. Even if you...even if you hate me."

Mary opened her mouth to protest, but Joey stopped her. "I understand if you hate me. So just tell me right now, and I'll leave you alone if you want me to. You'll never see me again."

Mary shook her head. "Joey...no." She said, which made his face fall. "I don't hate you, I mean. I never hated you, I just didn't want you to have to put up with a charity case like me. You've got too much to think about. That and...I thought you would be disappointed in who I was."

"But I'm not!" Joey insisted. "Your the most beautiful person I've ever met. Inside and out." With these words, he pulled from behind his back a single rose, clipped of all thorns. Mary held it gently, delicately, as though it would wither at her touch. She held it up to her nose, smelling it with a smile on her face.

"Thank you," she said, looking up at him with a smile.

"So does this mean..." Joey trailed off, and Mary bit her bottom lip.

"It means maybe," she told him. "It means that you don't have to go. It means that we can be friends. It means a lot of things could happen."

"That's a lot of maybes," Joey said.

"Maybe," Mary agreed.

The two stood in silence for a moment, both staring at the ground awkwardly. Mary looked up at Joey, and then at the flowers.

"So...how exactly did you do all of this?" She asked, laughing in amazement.

Joey grinned. "Well, when your a celebrity you know some people." Mary nodded, giggling a bit.

More silence. "I guess I'll see you at school," Mary said, smiling at him. He nodded, and with that they both turned separate ways and began walking.

Later that night, sitting in her bed with a rose in her hand, Mary smelled it again.

Maybe. She liked the sound of that.


End file.
